Yesterday’s “no” vote in a Dutch referendum on Ukrainian accession to the European Union has Brussels in a panic. None of the other EU member states allowed a popular vote on bringing in basket case Ukraine — their parliaments rubber-stamped the agreement. But because unanimity is required for any new members, the Dutch “no” — even if only technically advisory — means that the deal is scrapped. For now, at least. Brussels has a way of bringing back vote after vote until the people choose the “right” way. But for now, the result is a huge boost for the Brexit movement as well as for other Euroskeptic parties and politicians throughout Europe. Why did the Dutch vote no? Frustration and anger over Brussels’ immigration policy, over the EU blindly following the US “regime change” of Ukraine that has left the country worse off than before, and over Ukraine’s suspicious secrecy on the facts of the 2014 shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 over eastern Ukraine. What’s next? It could get interesting…
Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.